Please help with new build

[clambake212]

After a lot of reading and research on this site and a few others, I am about ready to take the plunge and build a new system with a limited amount of knowledge. It will be used for general purpose computing, video and picture editing and some gaming. In general I would like it to be a relatively quick, quality system without breaking the bank although cost is not a primary concern. I already have a monitor, case, mouse, keyboard and Windows XP. I will eventually upgrade to Windows Vista after the bugs are worked out. Here are the parts I have selected:


ASUS P5B-Plus LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
(I know basic P5B is a few dollars cheaper)

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - Retail

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250820AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
(Want the 250GB with perpendicular recording not 320GB)

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-06 - Retail

SONY Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Windows 98SE/ ME/ 2000/ XP - OEM

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 675 (PC2 5400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-5400c4 - Retail

Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply - Retail

EVGA 256-P2-N751-TR GeForce 8600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

Here are my questions:

1. The Corsair XMS2 memory ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145015) is only $5 more than the Value Select so I have opted for the XMS. Is this okay for this system?

2. Is the Antec power supply ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103937) okay or is there a better choice in the same price range ($75)?

3. The big question - there are so many video cards to select from I really don't have a clue. Is the one selected acceptable or there better choices? Here is the one I slected:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130085

All parts will be purchased from Newegg.

Thanks for any and all comments and assistance.

[jer888]

Originally Posted by clambake212 1. The Corsair XMS2 memory ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145015) is only $5 more than the Value Select so I have opted for the XMS. Is this okay for this system?

Theres no point really. The VS 667 runs closest to the speed of the Core 2 Duo I believe. That RAM won't give you any performance increase.

Originally Posted by clambake212 2. Is the Antec power supply ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103937) okay or is there a better choice in the same price range ($75)?

This power supply is more expensive, but will give you alot more headroom to upgrade down the road then that Antec.
CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick - Retail

Originally Posted by clambake212 3. The big question - there are so many video cards to select from I really don't have a clue. Is the one selected acceptable or there better choices? Here is the one I slected: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130085

That card should be fine. That will allow you to play games on decent settings now and run some DX10 games down the road. If you want to run games on max settings with good frame rates, get a 8800GTS

[freakitchen]

The most important item to change would be the power supply - the Corsair that jer888 suggested is miles ahead of that smartpower in terms of ability and quality. Alternatively, this Antec Truepower unit looks like great value after the rebate. It's Seasonic made, so the quality is excellent, but it lacks the modular cables that the Corsair offers:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371002

I'd second his recommendation for the Value Select memory - the only reason to get anything better than this is if you were overclocking; in this case you should opt for DDR2-800.

Everything else looks good to me.